Relief for BJP? Subramanian Swamy to tweet less for a week

Subramanian Swamy, who has entertained the media and the people through his comments and attacks on prominent people has declared in a recent tweet that he will tweet less for a week because other important issues demand his attention.

While Swamy’s decision might be a disappointment for Indians who revel in his opinion on anything, everything and everyone, it will be a welcome relief for the RSS and the BJP. Prime Minister Narendra Modi disapproved of his caustic statements and people within the RSS have also reportedly started questioning his comments.

File image of Subramanian Swamy. Reuters

BJP has no dearth of controversial hotheads. However, Swamy is an exceptional case as he attacks not just Rahul and Sonia Gandhi, but also his own party. Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti and Sakshi Maharaj may have made their mark in terms of making controversial remarks, but Swamy has surpassed them hands down.

His series of attacks began on 12 May with a demand to send Raghuram Rajan back to Chicago. “I think the RBI governor is not quite right for our country,” he said.

Then, he went on to say that Delhi Lt Governor Najeeb Jung seeks guidance from Sonia Gandhi’s political secretary Ahmed Patel. He said this while protesting outside Arvind Kejriwal’s house with Maheish Girri.

Patel’s boss Sonia Gandhi was Swamy’s next victim. He alleged that the Congress president wanted to declare a state of emergency in the country by making allegations of 'Hindu terror.'

The sword next shifted to Rahul Gandhi, who Swamy claimed is in London with a “special friend”. “What one needs to know is how many passports he (Rahul) has?” he said.

Soon enough, Swamy set his sights beyond the Gandhi family and targeted the rest of the senior Congress leadership as well. “Very soon, you will see that the Congress Working Committee can be held in Tihar jail,” he said.

Swamy also asked Arvind Kejriwal to show courage and confess that he was admitted into IIT by some “skulduggery” and not the competitive exam.

As long as the comments and attacks were restricted to Opposition leaders, the BJP might have tolerated this ‘vicious infighter of Indian politics’ as an article in The New York Times describes him. However, as soon as Swamy’s gun pointed towards Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, the BJP issued an informal warning to him.

After his attack on Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian, asking for his removal, Jaitely called for discipline to be followed among Indian politicians. Responding to this, Swamy attacked Jaitley as well.

This recent tweet by Swamy declaring that he will lessen the number of tweets seems a relief for the BJP whose leadership does not want him to embarrass the government any further, The Indian Express reported.

Months before the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, his tweets and remarks have been garnering bad publicity for the BJP. At a time when it is crucial for the party to project the good things done by it at the Centre, Swamy appears to be distracting people with his rhetoric.

For the BJP, Swamy is like a Shakesperean fool, though lacking any wit. Even as he provides entertainment value, he uses his jarring tongue to launch slander campaigns on people social standing.

His silence is probably something that the BJP is desperately seeking as of now. Swamy has finally decided to grant them a partial break by going on a Twitter break for a week. However, since Swamy claims that publicity 'seeks' him, re, it is difficult to say till when he will abide by his declaration of tweeting less.